


Inktober: Voltron Edition

by constantly_disoriented



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: All Paladins written above legal age, Angst, Blood, Canon-Typical Violence, Drabble, F/M, Female Pronouns for Pidge | Katie Holt, Heavy Angst, Hunk Lealofi, Implied Violence, Inktober, Lance Sanchez - Freeform, M/M, Mentioned Deaths of Children, Mentioned deaths, Mentions of Blood, Multi, No Overarching Plot, No connection between prompts, They're all so soft like wow, boys being soft, implied biting kink, mentions of grief, most of the relationships are going to be implied, soft, some nsfw
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-06
Updated: 2017-10-31
Packaged: 2019-01-09 15:34:35
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 31
Words: 3,100
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12279387
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/constantly_disoriented/pseuds/constantly_disoriented
Summary: 100 word snapshots of the lives of five awkward Paladins, a Princess, and everyone's resident Crazy Uncle.





	1. Swift (Hunk/Keith)

**Author's Note:**

  * Translation into Русский available: [Инктобер: Вольтрон-версия](https://archiveofourown.org/works/14504991) by [fierce_cripple](https://archiveofourown.org/users/fierce_cripple/pseuds/fierce_cripple)



> 31 days of Inktober to help me get used to posting regularly on Ao3.  
> All based off of the official Inktober prompt list. Each chapter is one prompt, and each prompt is written in 100 words.

Keith moves like a flash flood. He comes, quick and relentless; by the time you know to be afraid, it is already too late. It’s frightening, Hunk thinks, to imagine what it would be like on the wrong end of Keith’s bayard. A death sentence, before you’ve even been tried and convicted.

Keith moves like a hummingbird. There and gone before you even know it. It’s funny, Hunk thinks, how his lips leave a burning smear on Hunk’s own that lasts long after Keith has run off. Something so blunt, so stubborn, so quick to anger could be so delicate.


	2. Divided

Coran has always seen life in parallels and parodies; if you draw lines between coincidences, eventually you will reach a finite conclusion.

It’s silly, how Lance and Keith butt heads so often; why, are they not two sides of the same coin? One boy raised among many, the other raised among none. One boy outshined by all those around him, the other easily rising to the top. It was almost comical, in fact, watching Lance and Keith become both right arm and leg -- symbolism that Coran couldn’t have missed if he even tried.

Symbolism, it seems, is not their forte.


	3. Poison

Blue blooms across Pidge’s ribcage like blossoming flowers. It is not a natural color; she is meant to bleed red, meant to bruise purple and yellow.

Blue swims in her vision; blue eyes, blue armor, blue sky. It may not be her color, but _god_ , if it isn’t pretty. Calming, even while the pain rips whimper after whimper from her too cold, too blue lips. Intelligent, though she will die before she admits it.

Lance says her name. He’s frightened. She wasn’t supposed to get hit.

She’ll be alright, he says, until she’s no longer conscious enough to hear it.


	4. Underwater

Lance has always loved the ocean. It’s cold, full of deadly creatures, but water is vital to human survival, and how fun it is to play with death.

In the middle of space, there isn’t a drop of salt water to be had, and the only pool on the ship is on the ceiling.

Lance finds his ocean in a bathtub that’s too small to fit his whole body in it. He turns the water on cold, in nothing more than his skin, and dips his head underwater.

It’s quiet, and for the first time in months, Lance finds peace.


	5. Long

Princess Allura never understood why her human Paladins required such a long sleep cycle. Alteans only need four vargas or so of sleep daily, but humans need seven, for some reason. She allowed them the three extra vargas of sleep; after all, there are many differences between humans and Alteans. Who is she to deny them a necessity?

Three vargas is a long time to do nothing. Nothing leads to remembering, and remembering leads to the sort of pain she does not think is productive in the slightest. Grief is a tricky monster, one she is beginning to know well.


	6. Sword

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith?? And knives???? Cliche??? Oh well

“Why do you like knives so much, Keith?”

“Why don’t you ever talk to us about your problems, Keith?”

“Why do you push everyone you’ve ever cared about away, Keith?”

Experience has taught him that people are not worth trusting; some betrayal, whether abandonment or traitorous actions, is guaranteed. Darwinism has picked the fittest of the species to survive, and survive he must, even if it means building walls. Survive he must, even if it means that he is far too attached to an object which cannot love him back. Survive he must, even if it means he is alone.


	7. Shy

A child hides behind it’s parent’s leg. This species is frightened by human smiles, so Shiro does not let his lips curve. He kneels, and tilts his head at the too big eyes blinking at him.

Shiro holds his left hand, all skin and scars. The child stares at it, and then at him. He waits one, two, three heartbeats.

The child steps out from behind the leg and reaches for his hand. Shiro takes xir small palm in his carefully, lets the child explore the lines in his hand with patience. This small task is one he can manage.


	8. Crooked

“What are you cooking?” A too scrawny, too skinny boy asks.

“Palusami,” a big boy, just as large as his heart answers.

“It smells great, man!” The too scrawny, too skinny boy smiles; it is all teeth and gums and takes up too much space in his too thin, too narrow face.

The big boy, just as large as his heart, grins crooked, grins proud. “Thanks, man! If you want, you can have some when it’s done.”

The too scrawny, too skinny boy and the big boy, just as large as his heart eat mere feet apart, and grow together.


	9. Screech

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Implied Klance, maybe? Also, Lance Sanchez is afraid of bugs and you can't convince me otherwise.

“Did...” Keith blinks once, twice, surprised. “Did you just shriek?”

“I did not!” Lance insists, his voice just a touch too high. A smile climbs onto Keith’s face.

“Who would’ve thought that Lance ‘The Tailor’ Sanchez is afraid of a little --

“I am _not afraid_ , Keith!” Lance states flatly, pointing at the alien insect on the floor. “It just startled me, is all!”

“Oh, really?” Keith asks, folding his arms across his chest and smirking. “Your hand is shaking.”

“Adrenaline,” Lance explains, crunching his fingers into a fist. “I’m not scared of bugs!”

“If you say so, Lance,” Keith says.


	10. Gigantic

The Castle of Lions is home to very few creatures: five humans, two Alteans, and three mice.

The Castle of Lions was meant to house hundreds. It was made to be an exploratory ship, was it not? It was made for scientists, doctors, nerdy little goofs who only wanted to be happy and learn things and do Science.

The halls are mostly empty, now. The people it was meant to house are all but extinct. Sometimes, if it is quiet, an echo of its creators can still be heard; bustling, laughing, _creating_.

The halls house more ghosts than people, now.


	11. Run

It is summer, and they are laughing. Matt is out of breath; Katie, though she has shorter legs, has superior stamina, and far more determination. She _will_ win.

It is fall, and they are smiling. Matt has warm tea in his hands; Katie has finished hers long ago. She holds his cup while he jumps on crunchy leaves.

It is winter, and they are too cold for this. Matt brought his gloves; Katie, though she is smart, did not plan ahead. Matt gives her his gloves, though she does not think to ask.

It is spring, and Katie is alone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Almost forgot to post today but oh well here you go!


	12. Shattered

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For reference, I've given Hunk the last name Lealofi and Lance the last name Sanchez.

It’s funny, if a little sad, how one event can change so many; cement the relationships between four different families who previously had very little contact with each other.

It begins with Mrs. Shirogane and Mrs. Holt. Their sons are-were best friends, and did everything with each other; it seems only fitting that death be included in the definition of “everything.”

Then comes the Sanchez family, and the Lealofi’s. The loss of a single family member, no matter how big the family is, is sharp and neverending.

There is no one left to mourn the loss of the last child.


	13. Teeming

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's some fluff, for once

They are smiling, though it has been a long, unforgiving week of endless work.

Lance says something, a joke that Allura doesn’t understand, and everyone laughs. Pidge steals some meat from Hunk’s plate, and while he pretends to be angry, everyone knows it is nothing but a facade. Shiro smiles at Coran when he holds up a spoonful of food, and politely rejects the offering. Keith laughs so hard that water shoots out of his nose.

Something in Allura’s chest, a hole so empty for so long that she forgot that it used to hold something, fills up with warmth.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's Friday the 13th in October yall it's about to get spoopy


	14. Fierce

There is a reason that humans say “do not provoke the bear.” We know better. Foolishly, we have tried, and we have learned.

Pidge forgets, though Hunk is twice her size, that he could easily snap her in half. After all, he can be cowardly, and warm, and caring; creatures of death are not so often warm and caring.

Hunk is covered in blood that is not his, and Pidge is covered in blood that is her own. The soldier is unmoving. It doesn’t matter.

“You okay?” Hunk asks as he helps Pidge to stand. She is not.

“’M Fine.”


	15. Mysterious (Keith/Lance)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> BOM! Keith AU bc im a sucker for them

“Don’t think that you can frighten me into doing what you want just because you’re wearing a cool mask,” Lance’s voice is confident, but undermined by his shaking fingers.

“I do not intend on frightening you into doing anything,” the masked figure says.

“Then take off your mask and stop being creepy,” Lance demands. The masked figure is quiet, but then reaches up and lowers their hood. They press a button on their mask, and a face appears. Lance smiles.

“What’s your name, stranger?” He asks. The Galran man tilts his head.

“Keith.” He says.

“Well, Keith, the name’s Lance.”


	16. Fat (Hunk/Lance)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just some good nsfw Hance! (no fatshaming in this chapter or any chapter, I promise. Ya boi Hunk is just thicc you know?)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mentioned biting kink, just fyi

Lance bit down gently on the soft swell of Hunk’s ass. Hunk jumped; flushed from the tops of his ears to the impressions left by Lance’s teeth on his skin.

“Why biting?” Hunk asked, leaning up onto his elbows so that he could look over his shoulder at Lance. “Why not anything other than biting?”

“Because, cariño,” Lance moved a few inches over and bared his teeth, again. “This way, I leave a mark for longer. Besides, you know you like it. Don’t try to deny it.”

Hunk flushed several shades darker, and didn’t even reopen his mouth to argue.


	17. Graceful

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Coran is a dancer and anyone who says otherwise can meet me in the ring

Coran stepped once, twice, lifted his arm as if he were caressing a delicate flower, and spun without disturbing so much as a hair on his head. It seemed a bit odd, to see someone dancing without music, but he kept a steady beat in four-four time as if it were second nature. Simple as walking and talking. Step, step, lift, spin, poised like a ballerina, feet so light they were nearly silent in the echoing room.

Oh, how he flew; leapt so gracefully one would never think he was made to touch the ground at all.

Perhaps, he wasn’t.


	18. Filthy (Allura/Lance)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Implied Allurance??? Because aesthetic.

“No!” Allura said sharply, blocking the entrance of the castle. Lance looked at her, confused.

“What?”

“You are absolutely filthy! You’ve given me half a mind to hose you down, you’re covered in so much muck!”

True, he was covered in mud, leaves, and something that could possibly have been dung. She seemed hellbent on keeping him out until he was clean. He raised an eyebrow, his smile turning distinctly cocky. “Is that an invitation?”

Allura’s cheeks turned bright pink and she floundered, for a moment. “Oh, get over yourself, Lance. Please, just go take a shower.”

“Right away, Princess.”


	19. Cloud

He’s floating on something warm. Something soft. Something nice, safe, and warm.

Where is he, again?

 _Does it matter?_ The Something asks.

No, he supposes. Perhaps not.

A Voice calls, wordless and urgent.

 _Everything is alright,_ the Something tells him.

He has to go -- it could be important.

 _Alright,_ the Something agrees. _But I’ll be right here, waiting for your return._

Shiro opens his eyes. Lance crouches over him, hand firm on Shiro’s shoulder. He pulls it off when he sees Shiro is awake.

“You fell asleep, man. Come on, go to bed.”

“Alright,” Shiro agrees, too tired to argue.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Needed mself some soft Shiro


	20. Deep

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can be seen as a very close platonic relationship OR as heavily implied Klance

“Do you think we’ll ever go home?” Lance’s voice is quiet, fragile in the air.

“You mean to Earth?” Keith asks, and squirms. “I hope that you will, eventually. It seems like you really miss it.”

“You don’t?” Lance isn’t accusatory; simply curious. It might be safe, Keith thinks, to tell Lance this one secret.

“Earth was never really ‘home’, to me,” Keith admits. “There’s nothing left for me, there.”

“I’ll be there,” Lance tells him, reaches over to poke his arm. “If you want, mi casa es su casa.”

Keith blinks, blinks, blinks again.

And smiles.

“I’d like that.”


	21. Furious

Keith had always been _red_. Red meant anger, meant passion, meant blood boiling in his veins like the hot desert sun he craved.

Lance had always been _blue_. Blue meant trust, meant confidence, meant thousands of miles of ocean spanning as far as any eye could see.

Lance is _red_ , now, but red doesn’t mean _anger passion hot_ anymore. Red means determination, means strength, means love so much and so wide it’s all-consuming. He fits the shoe so well, adapts so easily.

Keith is _black_ , now. It feels like a paint on coat, like a falsity. No warmth in nothingness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tbh has very little to do with anger in general but i digress


	22. Trail

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: mentions of blood

Blood is such a messy thing. It’s thick, and copious, and hard to clean up. No matter how many times you clean the floor, wash your hands, bleach your clothes, the smell remains. The stains remain. The memories remain.

Shiro knows how that feels; leaving a trail of bodies in your wake. Some nights he feels he’s drowning in it; suffocating in the smell of _metal copper tang make my sacrifice worthwhile_.

He’s never looked good in red, so it’s a good thing that most aliens bleed purple.

He wonders, sometimes, if after all this, he would bleed purple, too.


	23. Juicy (Lance/Shiro)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just some good ol nsfw Shance!!

Shiro is made of compact muscle. All the training and stress left nothing to jiggle. Lance is made of lean meat. Willowy by nature, svelte and smooth. Cuddle-time, understandably, can be a bit uncomfortable -- who wants to hold a bag of bones and a brick wall?

Muscle, Lance finds, provides just enough give to bite into. It’s hot, and sweaty, and yet the skin holds still beneath his teeth. Shiro, however, does not; jolts, hips stuttering, bites back a moan.

Lance has always liked soft, curvy, pliable things, but this -- _this_ , unmovable, bulky, sturdy thing, he could get used to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (I know it's my boi Keith's birthday but I prewrote this and didn't have time to change it sorry my dudes)


	24. Blind

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pidge wears??? Prescription glasses????? Even though she doesn't need them???? why

“Pidge, you don’t even need glasses,” Lance notes. “Why are you trying to mess up your eyesight?”

“Aesthetic,” Pidge says with a smirk, pushes them up her nose.

“No,” Lance points an accusing finger at her, only semi-playful. “You are not ruining your vision for aesthetic. Give them here.”

Lance swipes the glasses before Pidge can stop him, presses his thumbs into the lenses until they pop out, and hands the empty frames back to her.

“How will I do the Glasses Flare, now?” Pidge asks.

“A small price to pay for your vision, Pidgeon,” Lance pats her head.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Side note: Lance is right, don't wear glasses that aren't your prescription for extended periods of time (especially if the prescription is stronger than you need. That's asking for a headache.)   
> Extra side note: How can she see with them on?? h o w


	25. Ship

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Allura and a Dead Planet

“Was the Castle of Lions always your home?” Someone asks Allura.

 _No_ , she wants to say, but _no_ brings back memories of sweet smelling flowers and smooth fabrics and warm sunlight on outstretched arms.

 _No_ , she wants to say, but _no_ reminds her of fiery rains and oceans that waved tsunamis and moons the same color as her hair.

 _No_ , she wants to say, but _no_ tells her that home is resting in a solar system long, long gone, and although ashes may rise to form a phoenix, there are no ashes left of a planet 10,000 years dead.


	26. Squeak

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Allura, from the perspective of the mice.

The mice know of a Lady whose mother was made of moonrock and stardust, whose father was a man grown in a forest of prosperity. Under the pressure of rising hatred, the mother crumbled to dust; in the flames of war, the father burned to ashes.

The mice know of a Lady forged in the same fires that burned her father, pressed to diamonds in the same pressure which crushed her mother.

The mice know of a Lady so smothered in Pink she breathed it; the loss of her people, Pink garments worn loud and proud among a land of purple.


	27. Climb

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Angsty Keith and Supportive Lance? In _my_ fanfiction? It's more likely than you think.

“I guess I have some walls built up.”

_Great. Now whoever sees it is gonna know you’re a social failure --_

“Hey, man,” Lance says. “You doin’ okay?”

“I’m fine,” he tries. It comes out warbling and broken.

“You don’t seem fine to --”

“Lance, please leave it alone.”

_See, now you’ve fucked it up. ‘Walls,’ more like mountains on every side --_

“Alright,” Lance says. “If you wanna talk about it, later, you know where to find me, okay?”

“Okay,” Keith manages, a little stunned by the unexpected reaction.

Maybe he has some walls built up.

Maybe Lance knows how to climb.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yell with me about Keith's vlog!!


	28. Fall (Lance/Shiro)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some good Lance/Shiro abstract

_Tell me how one falls for another._

Like clay, Lance was flexible; moldable; easily broken and reformed. Oh, but Shiro touched him as if he were a delicate masterpiece.

_Does it begin with a glance?_

As the Earth revolves around the sun, Shiro kept coming back to Lance. Lance, the steady rock in harsh waters; Shiro, a drowning man.

_Does it begin with a smile?_

How simply Shiro could have devastated him.

_Does it begin with a kiss?_

How easily Lance reeled him in.

_Tell me, my darling, the secrets of love;_

_I will give you my heart in return._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "What about the other characters?" You ask. "Why do you write about Lance, so much?" You ask.  
> I know, I know, I get it, but I'm not sorry i love my sweet summer child leave me alone  
> I might expand upon this one. I felt a little constrained by the word limit (for the first time this Inktober, shockingly). Let me know if y'all would read more of it or if I shouldn't bother.


	29. United

The first time it happens, they are nervous, and just a little scared. It’s a strange feeling, five minds pressing right in next to each other, feeding emotion and thought and ideas as if they were one body. Each is only used to being alone, in their own respective heads.

The feeling -- this closeness, an odd intimacy -- is so foreign it should seem invasive, and it _is_ , right up until it _isn’t_. They’re shouting and laughing and five pounding hearts beat as one. The skull feels far too small to hold five minds at once, but they do it, anyway.


	30. Found

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tell me the story of a happy family, and I will return to you a tragedy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: mentioned death of children.

Coran remembers holding an armful or two of children -- to whom they belonged, it no longer matters. They’re all dead, now, anyway; children and all.

He sees a little bit of Altea in these human children -- because that’s what they are, truly. All five of them, still little kids; still bright and new in the universe.

He will miss the sweet sound of tinkling laughter and the mischievous glint in the eyes of Altean children less than a century old, but maybe these humans can be his new Altea.

Maybe he can find the word _family_ in these children, too.


	31. Mask

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes, we need to let go.

All it takes is a smile, warm and sweet and caring, to break Pidge apart.

Pidge doesn’t _cry_. Crying implies sniffles and sweet pink spots and pretty tears. Crying is delicate.

Pidge _bawls_. It’s loud and messy, spilling screams and snot; built up pressure of emotion exploding out of her like a geyser. It’s _ugly_ , the bawling; hard to watch.

But Hunk is patient; holds her tiny body carefully as she breaks, shatters into little pieces. He fears, just a little, that if he were not there to hold her remains together, there wouldn’t be a body to return to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the end!! It was fun while it lasted. I might expand on a couple of these, so if there is any particular one any of you liked that you would like to see expanded, feel free to let me know!   
> Thanks for reading this mess!

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed! Leave a comment if you are so inclined, and please inform me of any typographical errors or grammar issues!


End file.
